THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



that Mr. Howitt had in the press a great work dealing with the 

 native tribes of south-eastern Australia, which would doubtless 

 be a classic in Australian anthropology. He then, in the midst 

 of considerable applause, handed the medal to Mr. Howitt, with 

 the congratulations of the meeting. 



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Mr. Howitt, in thanking the meeting for its good wishes, said 

 that he had been fortunate in being able to pursue his studies 

 under exceptional circumstances. He had seen Victoria in the 

 old gold-digging days ; he had done some exploration in the Lake 

 Eyre district. South Australia, and he had been sent out to rescue 

 the Burke and Wills Exploring Expedition, when he had been 

 fortunate in meeting with King, the sole survivor of the party, 

 and bringing him back to Melbourne. Then, again, his official 

 duties in Gippsland had made him conversant with the geology 

 and botany of that region, and at the same time he had been able 

 to study the customs of the few surviving members of the original 

 inhabitants of the land. With regard to the latter portion of his 

 work, he had been greatly assisted by his association for many 

 years with Dr. Lorimer Fison. 



Mr. Howitt was elected an honorary member of the Field 

 Naturalists' Club of Victoria in 1882, and has occasionally 

 contributed to its proceedings. 



The Mueller medal, which is of appropriate and handsome 

 design, and is in the form of a tablet of silvered bronze, slightly 

 larger than the illustration, was designed by Mr. J Tranthim 

 Fryer, of Melbourne, the die being executed by Messrs. Janvier 

 and Duval, of Paris. 



